Article 9: Processing of special categories of personal dataAI-relevant
Praxikon tracks Article 9 (Processing of special categories of personal data) under the GDPR, alongside the EU AI Act, citing the source for every statement.
What does Article 9 govern?
Article 9 prohibits in paragraph 1 the processing of special categories of personal data: data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade union membership, and genetic data, biometric data for unique identification, health data and data concerning sex life or sexual orientation. Paragraph 2 lists ten exceptions in which the prohibition does not apply, such as explicit consent (a), obligations under employment law (b), data manifestly made public by the data subject (e) and health care (h). Paragraph 3 ties the health care exception to professional secrecy, and paragraph 4 lets Member States set further conditions for genetic, biometric and health data. The article exists because, according to recital 51, these data are by their nature particularly sensitive and their processing can create significant risks to fundamental rights. An exception under paragraph 2 comes on top of, not instead of, the legal basis under Article 6 (recital 51).
Key term: Special categories of personal data: the sensitive data listed in paragraph 1 whose processing is prohibited unless an exception in paragraph 2 applies
Directly affects:controllerprocessordata subjectmember statedata protection officer
Praxikon’s reading of the text and the recitals; the official text below prevails.
AI Act intersection
Special categories of personal data are relevant for prohibited AI practices (Art. 5 AI Act, biometrics) and data governance (Art. 10 AI Act, bias detection).
Official text
Source: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Official text, reproduced without modification.
What does this mean for you?
Controller
First establish whether you process data listed in paragraph 1, including where you infer them from other data, then determine which exception in paragraph 2 applies; record both. If you ask for explicit consent (paragraph 2(a)), this goes beyond ordinary consent and must name specified purposes. If you use AI, for example, to uniquely recognise faces in photos, those are biometric data under recital 51; an ordinary photo without such technical processing is not. Also check whether your Member State sets further conditions for genetic, biometric or health data (paragraph 4).
Processor
Know whether you process special categories for the controller, because the safeguards that belong to the exception, such as secrecy in health care (paragraph 3), must also be in place on your side. If you use these data for your own purposes, you are the controller for that part and need your own exception under paragraph 2 and a legal basis under Article 6.
Data Protection Officer
For each project, test whether special categories are involved and whether the chosen exception in paragraph 2 genuinely fits; 'manifestly made public by the data subject' (e), for example, requires that the data subject did this themselves. Remind the organisation that a legal basis under Article 6 is needed in addition to an exception under paragraph 2 (recital 51).
Data Subject
Your sensitive data may not be processed as a rule (paragraph 1). If an organisation asks you for explicit consent, it must be clear for which specified purposes this is (paragraph 2(a)). Recital 54 says that health data processed for reasons of public health may not be used by employers, insurers or banks for other purposes.
Compliance checklist
Related recitals
Personal data which are, by their nature, particularly sensitive in relation to fundamental rights and freedoms merit specific protection as the context of their processing could create significant ri...
(52)Derogating from the prohibition on processing special categories of personal data should also be allowed when provided for in Union or Member State law and subject to suitable safeguards, so as to pro...
(53)Special categories of personal data which merit higher protection should be processed for health-related purposes only where necessary to achieve those purposes for the benefit of natural persons and ...
(54)The processing of special categories of personal data may be necessary for reasons of public interest in the areas of public health without consent of the data subject. Such processing should be subje...
(55)Moreover, the processing of personal data by official authorities for the purpose of achieving the aims, laid down by constitutional law or by international public law, of officially recognised religi...
(56)Where in the course of electoral activities, the operation of the democratic system in a Member State requires that political parties compile personal data on people's political opinions, the processi...
Cross-references
Frequently asked questions
Connections
What connects to Article 9 GDPR
Themes where this returns
The counterpart in the other law
- Article 2 AI Act: Scope
via Using special categories of personal data to detect bias
- Article 3 AI Act: Definitions
- Article 5 AI Act: Prohibited AI practices
- Article 6 AI Act: Classification rules for high-risk AI systems
- Article 10 AI Act: Data and data governance
- Article 50 AI Act: Transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems
Case law
- Schrems v Meta: no unlimited retention and aggregation of data for targeted advertising
2024-10-04 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Vierde kamer), Maximilian Schrems tegen Meta Platforms Ireland Limited
- Lindenapotheke: competitors may sue over GDPR breaches and pharmacy order data are health data
2024-10-04 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Grote kamer), ND tegen DR (twee Duitse apothekers)
- Meta v Bundeskartellamt: competition authority may find a GDPR breach, strict conditions for legal bases behind personalised advertising
2023-07-04 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Grote kamer), Meta Platforms Inc., Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd en Facebook Deutschland GmbH tegen Bundeskartellamt
- Russmedia: an online marketplace operator is controller for personal data in adverts and must check before publication
2025-12-02 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Grote kamer), X tegen Russmedia Digital SRL en Inform Media Press SRL
Guidelines
- Guidelines 03/2026 on web scraping in the context of generative AI
2026-07-07 · under consultation, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 05/2020 on consent under Regulation 2016/679
2020-05-04 · final, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 1/2026 on processing of personal data for scientific research purposes
2026-04-15 · adopted, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- EDPB and EDPS adopt Joint Opinion 2/2026 on the Digital Omnibus
2026-02-10 · final, European Data Protection Board en European Data Protection Supervisor
Enforcement and fines
- Ten municipalities fined a total of 250,000 euros for unlawful files on Muslim residents
2026-02-03 · final, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Formal warning to the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science not to put the CABR war archive online and searchable
2024-11-26 · final, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Clearview AI: 30.5 million euro fine and penalty orders for illegal facial database
2024-05-16 · final, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
Legislation in motion
- Proposal: exception for incidental special category data in AI development (Article 9(2)(k) and 9(5) GDPR)
2025-11-19 · proposal, Europese Commissie
- Proposal: exception for biometric verification under the data subject's sole control (Article 9(2)(l) GDPR)
2025-11-19 · proposal, Europese Commissie
- Council: Irish Presidency continues with a revised compromise, Antici Group 11 September 2026
2026-09-11 · under negotiation, Raad van de Europese Unie, Iers voorzitterschap
- Council: Cyprus Presidency tables negotiating mandate, Coreper vote of 26 June 2026 cancelled
2026-06-22 · under negotiation, Raad van de Europese Unie, Antici-groep (vereenvoudiging) en Coreper
- Commission publishes Digital Omnibus proposal COM(2025) 837
2025-11-19 · proposal, Europese Commissie